Former US President Donald Trump has often spoken out on the issue of abortion, so much so that he has leaned on both sides of the coin for 25 years. Here are 13 times his position changed, according to the American news channel CNN.
• Read also: Cautious on abortion, Trump wants to let American states legislate
October 24, 1999
As Donald Trump explored the idea of a presidential campaign for 2000, the latter reportedly argued that he was more “pro-choice” even if he “(hated) the concept of abortion.”
This statement suggested that he was adopting a rather liberal position, CNN noted.
August 6, 2015
Fast forward to 2015 while participating in the Republican nomination, Trump announces that his views have evolved in response to his opponents reminding him of his comments.
“You know, who else has moved on many issues is Ronald Reagan,” he said. He clarified that this about-face was because of his friends’ child.
“He was going to be aborted and he wasn’t aborted. And this child, today, is a “superstar”, a very, very big child,” he said.
March 1, 2016
In the midst of the inauguration, the former president danced back and forth in an effort to reach out to both general election voters and skeptical conservative extremists. We saw this in his comments on family planning on Super Tuesday.
“Family planning has done a very good job for millions of women, but we are not going to allow it and we are not going to fund it as long as abortion (is an integral part of this service),” he said. he declared.
March 30, 2016
Less than a month later, Donald Trump contradicted himself again, saying he was in favor of punishing women who have abortions before retracting his statement.
“There has to be some form of punishment (for the woman),” he told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.
Shortly after, he issued a longer statement saying that if abortion became illegal, it would be the doctor who would be held responsible. “The woman is a victim in this case, as is the life in her womb,” he said.
October 19, 2016
During a debate against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the Republican then indicated his intention to appoint two judges who are against abortion.
“The judges that I am going to appoint will be pro-life, they will have a conservative bent … I will say this: it will be up to the states and the states will then make a decision,” he said.
January 23, 2017
Quickly after becoming president, Donald Trump banned federal funding of organizations providing abortion or abortion counseling.
States were then allowed to withhold federal money from these organizations, ending an Obama regulation.
January 24, 2020
Right during his re-election campaign, Donald Trump participated in the “March for Life rally”, an annual anti-abortion event. At that event, he reiterated his commitment to “veto any legislation that weakens pro-life policies or encourages the destruction of human life.”
June 24, 2022
Trump declared victory after the overturning of the Roe vs. Wade ruling, which made abortion legal.
“(This was) only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including appointing and securing three highly respected and strong personalities,” he claimed.
January 1, 2023
The Supreme Court’s backtracking on the issue of abortion caused the defeat of many Republicans in the midterm elections.
Blaming stricter pro-choice supporters, Trump said, “It’s the ‘abortion issue,’ poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those who strongly insisted on no exceptions, even in cases of rape, incest or the death of the mother, which caused a large number of voters to lose.”
September 17, 2023
During the Republican primaries, the former president was more discreet on the issue of abortion. He stressed, however, that Republicans have put themselves in a politically vulnerable position by rushing to restrict abortion rights.
March 19, 2024
The 45th President of the United States recently discussed the idea of banning abortion after 15 weeks.
“People agree on 15, and I think in terms of that, and it will result in something very reasonable,” he said in a radio interview.
April 2, 2024
As Florida prepares to hold a referendum to make abortion illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, Donald Trump has avoided the subject.
“We will make a statement next week on abortion,” Trump said instead.
April 8, 2024
Latest turnaround for the man who aspires to return to the White House: he indicated Monday that he would leave the choice to the States to regulate abortion.
“That 50-year battle over Roe v. Wade took it out of federal hands and into the hearts, minds and votes of the citizens of every state, that was really something,” he said . Now it’s up to states to do the right thing.”
He also stressed that he would be in favor of exceptions for victims of rape and incest as well as for cases where the health of the mother is in danger.
